International Scrabble competitor lost for words after cheating row

Scrabble comp, Warsaw: photo - PAP/ Bartłomiej Zborowsk

Richards trounced Australian Andrew Fisher in the four-hour final at Warsaw's Hilton hotel, the second time he has walked away with the title, making him the only person to have achieved the feat in the biennial contest's 20-year history.

The Kiwi returns home 20,000 dollars the richer, with his eyes now set on repeating the performance in 2013.

War of words

But the normally genteel world of Scrabble was disrupted by accusations of foul play in the first round of the contest when a Thai player accused British hopeful Ed Martin of hiding a letter 'G' tile upon his person.

The irate contestant called for Martin to be strip-searched, but the referee ruled against humiliating the Briton, who subsequently won the match by a single point.

One hundred and six contestants took part in the championships, with all games played in English, putting non-native-speakers at a disadvantage.

Three Poles took part nevertheless, and although they did not make the top fifty, organiser Philip Nelkon noted that they fared “not at all badly” given the language handicap.

Scrabble, which was invented by American architect Alfred Mosher Butts in 1938, is now sold in 121 countries, and is available in 29 languages.

Since a full Polish edition was released in 2003, the game has become highly popular in Poland, which prompted the World Scrabble Association to pick the country as host for this year's contest. (nh/pg)